1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to erosion control systems, and more particularly to a system utilizing a plurality of interconnected but relatively moveable, waste tires arranged to control hydrodynamic processes, diminishing the amplitude of wave and controlling sediment migration in bodies of water, such that shore damage, erosion or the like is prevented, while promoting restoration of same. The hydrodynamic processes involved may include water level variations, surface wave action, currents, mixing and sediment transport.
The present device as taught in the invention may be configured and implemented to prevent or reduce saltwater intrusion in canals or channels, reduce and attenuate surface wave action, thereby preventing erosion and accompanying increased water turbidity, contain and impound dredge spoil and submerged sediment effluent, trap sediment to protect pipelines and shorelines, and redirect the natural flows in natural water bodies and man-made channels.
The preferred, exemplary embodiment of the present invention teaches a barrier arrangement wherein there is provided a plurality of transversely stacked tires or the like pivotally affixed to a side member, which is configured to slidingly communicate with a support column embedded in the sea floor, either in an orthogonal or angled fashion, depending upon the conditions and desired effect.
The exemplary embodiment further contemplates and teaches an arrangement wherein the side members may be configured so as to allow distal side engaging members to independently engage with the tires forming the support columns, forming a wall.
The present device as installed diminishes wave amplitude by absorbing the movement of the affixed tires about the column.
The present invention contemplates a number of diverse geometries, all designed for various specific applications and environs, utilizing the mounting system of the present invention.
The mounting system of the present invention contemplates a diverse link arrangement wherein each tire has provided in its radial cavity a spacer. The spacer is configured to communicate via bolt or the like with the side member exterior the tire, which is in turn slidingly communicates dynamic connector communicating with the lateral column.
The present arrangement as contemplated provides a safe, economical and effective system for diminishing water action damage, while utilizing an often otherwise un-recyclable resource, namely, waste tires.
2. Prior Art & General Background
While there exists a plethora of prior patents teaching revetments and erosion control arrangements of various configurations, many as detailed below utilizing waste tires therewith, none teach or contemplate the flexible, easily installed, effective, and relatively inexpensive system of the present invention.
The prior art has failed to provide a diverse system for stemming damage caused by hydrodynamic process, one of the most serious and costly problems affecting industrialized societies today, and greatly contributing to today's deteriorated environment. Solutions to this problem are being sought in two forms, namely, (1) prevention of further deterioration, and (2) remediation and restoration of the environment.
The problem becomes particularly acute in the hydrosphere, that is, in water bodies found in the environment. Water bodies, whether natural or man-made, are the locations of major industrial activities and population centers, a variety of recreational activities, a wide range of commercial fisheries and extensive transportation routes and facilities.
Unfortunately, these same areas are the locations of serious environmental problems, such as the pollution of rivers and estuaries, pollution of submerged sediments, oil spills, coastal erosion, wetland loss, non-point source pollution, saltwater intrusion and increased flooding.
What makes solving environmental problems in water bodies so difficult is that the sites are less accessible than on land and that the problem can exist over much larger geographic areas.
All of the environmental problems associated with water bodies are directly affected, if not actually controlled, by the hydrodynamic processes occurring within that water body. It is the hydrodynamic processes of waves, currents, water level variations, mixing and sediment transport that move pollutants, erode and deposit sediments, cause floods and apply excessive forces to man-made structures.
In trying to solve environmental problems in water bodies, what is needed is technology which deals directly with the hydrodynamic processes involved and which can modify these processes in beneficial ways. Few such hydrodynamic control devices are available today, and those that are available, such as breakwaters, river training works, groins and weirs, are expensive to construct, require continuous maintenance, and are limited in their scope of applications.
Another problem that exists today within the environment is the widespread occurrence of discarded used automobile tires. Discarded tires are found throughout the nation in numbers that are staggering. Approximately one tire is discarded per year per person in the United States, amounting to about 2000,000,000 tires added each year to this growing mass. Discarded tires are unsightly, constitute a fire hazard, provide a breeding ground for mosquitos and other insects, and are usually illegally dumped without the property owners' permission.
New regulations are being implemented which prevent used tires from being placed in landfills, and special fees are being levied on the purchase of new tires to generate funds for developing options for tire recycling.
A list of prior patents which may be of interest is presented below:
______________________________________ Pat. No. Patentee(s) Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,487,645 Frankel 01/06/1970 3,934,540 Brunner et al 01/27/1976 4,022,434 Moore 05/10/1977 4,080,793 Pulsifer 03/28/1978 4,139,319 Anderson 02/13/1979 4,142,821 Doring 03/06/1979 4,186,913 Brunner et al 02/05/1980 4,196,694 Buchanan 04/08/1980 4,900,188 Haselton et al 02/13/1990 4,997,309 Kiselewski 03/05/1991 5,011,327 Thiac 04/30/1991 ______________________________________
As may be discerned by a review of the above patents, the prior art does not teach nor suggest a barrier wall system like the present invention comprising a plurality of transversely stacked tires slidingly linked to a support column.
Further, there does not appear to be any patents which disclose the use of the combined mass provided by the water tire members in a configuration for diminishing or dampening wave amplitude via their movement about a lateral, vertical or angled axis.
For example, Pat. No. 3,487,645 issued in 1970 describes a "wave dampening device", wherein a buoyant member supported via a flexible cable configuration is used to allow communication with passing waves, dampening the wave amplitude through its absorption of wave energy and movement resulting therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,434 issued in 1977 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,821 issued in 1979 disclose the use of a plurality of waste tires affixed to one another at their peripheries with rivets or nut and bolt arrangements to form an electric fence and erosion control mat, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,793 issued in 1978 is directed to a "Method and Apparatus for Using Automotive Tires as Earth Engineering Devices," wherein there is taught various alternative embodiments involving a plurality of tires, affixed at their peripheries via fasteners, to form three dimensional structures suitable for reinforcing earthen structures, such as dams, revetments, levees and the like.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,327 issued in 1991 describes an "Erosion Barrier" wherein there is provided a first tire barrier comprising a plurality of stacked, static tiers of tires cut in half and positioned to form a barrier/breaker wall, wherein the uncut, intact, outer tread side of the tire wall communicates with the incoming tide, and the open, parabolic, inner side of the tire wall communicates with the outgoing tide, collecting alluvium and preferably preventing or slowing erosion. The various tires comprising the wall are directly connected to one another in a rigid fashion, via nut and bolt connectors, including a spacer (22) (FIG. 6) for maintaining the open side of the tires of the wall in their open position.
3. General, Summary Discussion of the Invention
While the prior art fails to achieve an easily implemented, relatively inexpensive and effective hydrodynamic control system, the present invention overcomes the prior art problems denoted above.
This invention provides a practical and cost effective method for addressing here-to-fore unsolved environmental problems associated with the control, alteration and modification of hydrodynamic processes, as well as providing for recycling of used automobile tires.
Both the device and method of the present invention are based upon constructing a structure or structures of interconnected whole tires and functionally locating these structures at critical locations in water bodies.
The structures are designed to take advantage of the shape and mechanical properties of the individual tires. The structures are anchored by piles to the water body bottom or are suspended or partially suspended in the water column. The structures can be moved or removed to take advantage of changing conditions. The structural arrangement of the tires is in the form of mats, curtains, columns and/or blocks, as dictated by the particular application.
The tires are connected using bolts and specially designed and fabricated interlocks and connectors. The structures may contain weighted and/or buoyant elements, as needed.
The operation of the hydrodynamic control devices is based upon the fact that individual tires cause localized changes in the water mean flow and the turbulence intensity, and that these single tire effects can be integrated into multi-component structures which accomplish major modification of hydrodynamic processes.
The effect of an individual tire is to divert the mean flow around the tire and, through flow separation and fluid drag, cause increased turbulence in the downstream direction. By spacing and orienting individual tires in one, two and three dimensional arrays, flow diversion and turbulence generation by one tire can be constructively or destructively combined with another, as needed.
The design of a particular tire array is constrained by the function it is to perform, i.e. wave attenuation, current diversion, etc., and by the specific characteristics of the site of operation.
The invention takes maximum advantage of the inherent mechanical properties of vehicular tires. Typically, such vehicular tires are toroidally configured sheets of rubber, banded along the inside edge of the sheet with steel cable (the "bead" of the tire) and wrapped around the outside flat surface with steel or fiberglass bands (the tire "belts"). The tires are quite flexible in tension and compression and in torsion up to a limit, at which point the tire becomes nearly inflexible.
The invention teaches how to use, for example, bolts and plastic materials to make connections between tires that provide the strengths necessary to construct massive, dynamic structures which will resist the applied forces. Furthermore, the invention teaches how to connect tires into geometric arrays or structures that are suitable for accomplishing a particular hydrodynamic control function at a particular site.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to teach a system for utilizing or otherwise recycling used vehicular tires and the like, such that the tires may be utilized to form a hydrodynamic control system, thereby converting a societal liability into an asset.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic control system which utilizes materials which are environmentally safe and non-degradable.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic control structure, comprising an array formed from a plurality of tires, wherein the structure is designed to pose no threat to human safety and have minimal impact on water body use and aesthetics.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic control system which, as configured, fills an existing gap in engineering technology for controlling hydrodynamic processes.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic control system which can be constructed with hand tools at minimal cost.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic control system which can be easily installed preferably without heavy machinery or equipment.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hydrodynamic control system which may be adjusted to accommodate varying environmental force and soil conditions.